Border Security

Refugee resettlement in the United States is as politicized as it has been in generations. That is a shame, because our current dumbed-down debate distracts us from reforms that could attract consensus support, decreasing security risks while ensuring the program’s viability.

As new—state and non-state—threats loom on the horizon, the U.S. and Mexican militaries will need to rely on deepening their connection and increasing bilateral trust to build a stronger and interdependent defense relationship. For two neighbors that share an annual trade worth in excess of USD 534 billion along a 2,000-mile border, cementing a strong relationship built on trust should be a priority. This event will bring together U.S. and Mexican defense and military officials that will provide their positions on the current level of defense cooperation.

President Obama will receive Mexico’s President Enrique Peña Nieto July 22 in Washington. This is a critical opportunity to highlight the importance of U.S.-Mexico ties, to underscore the substantial progress in cooperation, and to accentuate how the campaign rhetoric in the United States is out of tune with the reality of relations. With the U.S. election approaching, it is crucial to take steps to preserve the unprecedented U.S.-Mexico collaboration that exists today.

As set out in the essay earlier in this series by Alan Bersin and Michael Huston, at its core, 21st Century Border management means not drawing a line in the sand and forever building up more and more enforcement resources at the border itself, but instead aiming to secure and facilitate cross-border flows through an intelligent, multi-layered system approach, implemented both near to and far away from the border, inside and outside of a nation’s boundaries. Such an approach, almost by definition, necessitates international cooperation and public-private partnerships— in a world in which su

Canada, Mexico and the United States are collaborating to enhance security and foster prosperity at North America’s borders, while respecting each nation’s sovereignty. Prime Minister Trudeau, President Peña Nieto and President Obama can give this effort a big boost when they meet for the North American Leaders Summit (NALS) on June 29 in Canada. Given the contentious nature of th

When the leaders of Canada, Mexico and the United States meet on June 29 for a North American Leaders Summit (NALS), they will have two big tasks: 1) to explain clearly why cooperation between the three countries is of great value; and 2) to give clear directions to their officials to do the hard technical work so that cooperation produces solid results for economic growth and competitiveness, for mutual security, for the shared continental e

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